


Chronos

by Darkslover



Category: Free!
Genre: Gen, M/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 20:38:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1023128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkslover/pseuds/Darkslover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the tree was bare, Haruka didn’t know why he was upset and Rin was there. When the tree was in bloom, Haruka decided it didn’t matter and Rin was away. When the tree had lost its flowers, Haruka understood and Rin… </p>
<p>AU-ish for the last episode.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chronos

"So, it’s not in bloom yet…"

Rin’s tone was full of disappointment and a little bit of longing. Standing next to him, Haruka couldn’t understand why Rin would feel like this. It was just a cherry tree, similar to all cherry trees in the world. What did it matter if Rin couldn’t see it with flowers?

Haruka mentally waved the questions away, thinking Rin’s romantic nature being the cause.

It angered Haruka a lot just thinking about it; Rin’s nature and the actions that it brought. That boy came out of the blue, imposed himself and his ways onto them and now he was leaving and it was all too fast, too soon…

_'Too soon?'_

_'Too soon for what?'_

"I told you it was too early."

Makoto’s voice snapped Haruka’s musings. Had this boy been anyone else, or had he been older and wiser, he could have understood that Makoto had given him a hint.

But Haruka was 12 and icy, a child and unsociable. So, he didn’t.

Rin continued, saying how much he wanted to see the tree full of flowers, "… since it’s my last time seeing it."

Oh yeah. Rin would never return again.

_too soon, too early_

Haruka felt that he had to put this moment into memory by saying something. It seemed vital, even though he had no idea why or even what was vital there. Mentally sighing, he decided to get to it and be done with it. Whatever **it** was. It wouldn’t be good if he continued to be frustrated.

"Rin."

It was the first time Haruka called him by his first name.

"What is it?" Rin answered, amused by something. It was the first time Rin’s amusement didn’t feel weird or annoying to Haruka. It was just… Rin.

"Are you going to follow your father’s dream?" Haruka asked. It was the first time Haruka felt genuine interest about Rin’s dream. And the last.

_too soon, too early_

 

 

 

»»»»»»»«««««««

 

Two weeks later, the tree was in full bloom.

One morning, Haruka stopped to look at it while running to school.

He was still running.

Makoto came next to him a little later; he was still not used to running a lot. He stopped and looked at Haruka, with a silent question in his eyes. Following Haruka’s eyes, he saw the pink cherry blossoms. He turned to Haruka again and something akin to sadness and realisation came across his face.

Haruka was silent and still, but to Makoto, he might as well been screaming.

Makoto was good with silence. Being friends with Haruka made one so. But, what he said next held his own feelings, too.

"I wish Rin could see it."

Haruka didn’t answer, didn’t even flinch. He kept on looking up and wondered his last words to Rin. Looking back at them now, he felt that they weren’t what was necessary. Even though he had still no idea what they should be necessary for.

_'Does it really matter what was it?'_

Makoto was surprised to hear the small sigh from his friend. It was full of resign and defeat. Haruka’s shoulders fell and he turned away from the tree.

"Let’s go," he told Makoto, but he firstly turned his head on his other side, to call a classmate that wasn’t there.

 

»»»»»»»»««««««««

 

When Haruka saw Rin again, it was winter. The tree hadn’t lost just its pink flowers, but also its green leaves.

 

»»»»»»»»««««««««

 

"RIN! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Haruka didn’t care if people were shocked by his yelling. He couldn’t feel shame. That was his heart bursting and he had enough of concealing it, of telling himself that what it held inside didn’t matter.

The clock was ticking away the minutes and only ten were left. He could have sworn he had had twenty just seconds ago.

_'Too soon!'_

And then it hit him.

Running until he felt his muscles burning, he headed to the tree that had reminded him of the one from their childhood. He remembered it without any flowers; only leaves.

_too late_

He reached the place, out of breath, hoping against reality. The soft ground under its shadow was messed up by large footprints. Feet had kicked the dirt and it had fallen on the orange blocks. 'For the Team' had been stepped on, almost erased.

Haruka wasn’t wrong; Rin had been there. And he had already left.

_too soon_

_too late_

For a while, his mind went blank. He stood there, out of breath, looking at the opposite direction from where he had arrived, thinking that he had missed it, he wasn’t on time to reach Rin.

His mind yelling at him ‘RUN!’, he followed the footprints that were fading away as the distance from the tree grew. He heard his team calling him from behind, but he didn’t turn; he had to run faster, to manage to reach Rin before he left for good.

But the tree was now green with leaves, not pink with flowers.

_too late_

He turned towards the street, at the entrance of the stadium and there he saw red hair disappearing into a cab.

"RIN! WAIT!"

He ran again, but the car began and he had to stop at the pavement, other parked cars stopping him.

When his team reached him, the car was lost from sight. They were asking if he had seen Rin, where Rin was and all he could do was to silently answer them with his eyes, which were still glued in the distance. They stood by him for a while, looking at the road with him, until the time of the race came. He had to turn his back and leave.

 

_too late_

 

A tree cannot get its flowers back once it gets its leaves.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> “Chronos” means “time” in Greek.
> 
> I always thought that the biggest enemy of Haruka and Rin’s relationship (friendship, romance, whatever you want to make it) was neither their different personalities, nor their miscommunication, both of which can be combated. It was time and timing. They simply never had enough time and their timing was awful.


End file.
